Tajikistan: Sentencing of Mr. Sukhrat Kudratov

The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human
Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Tajikistan.

Description of the
situation:

The Observatory has been
informed by reliable sources of the sentencing of Mr. Sukhrat Kudratov,a
human rights lawyer known for his work defending opposition activists, victims
of police torture, and those accused of 'religious extremism', lawyer for the
independent news agency “Asia-Plus”, and Deputy Director of the opposition
Social Democratic Party. Mr. Kudratov was also the winner of the local Bureau
for Human Rights and Rule of Law’s Human Rights Defender of Tajikistan award in
2011.

According to the information received, on January 13, 2015, a court of
the Capital City of Dushanbe sentenced Mr. Sukhrat Kudratov to nine years in a
penal colony for bribery and fraud. Mr. Kudratov was under pre-trial detention
since his arrest on July 21, 2014, when he was arrested in his office and
charged with three criminal offences, including attempted bribery of a judge.
He will appeal the sentence.

The Observatory fears that
Mr. Kudratov is being targeted solely for exercising his legitimate human
rights activities and notably for defending Mr. Zaid Saidov, an opposition
activist and former Minister of Justice, who was arrested in November 2013
after announcing the creation of a new opposition party in the run up to the December 2013 presidential
elections.

In addition, it is to be
noted that Mr. Kudratov is the second of Mr. Zaid Saidov’s lawyers to be
detained. In March 7, 2014, Mr. Fakhriddin Zokirov, another lawyer defending
Mr. Saidov, was arrested on forgery charges. He was released after eight months
under the condition that he would no longer defend Mr. Saidov.

After these events, on July 15, 2014, Mr. Kudratov issued a public
letter addressed to foreign parliaments, governments, embassies and
international human rights organisations drawing their attention to the human
rights violations committed at the occasion of the Zaid Saidov trial and on the
ongoing persecution of Mr. Saidov's legal team. Six days later, he was
arrested.

The Observatory strongly condemns Mr. Kudratov’s arbitrary detention and
sentencing, which are considered as measures of retaliation for his legitimate
human rights activities and calls upon Tajikistan’s authorities to drop all
charges against him and immediately and unconditionally release him.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Tajikistan, urging them
to:

i. Release Mr. Sukhrat Kudratov immediately and
unconditionally, since his detention is arbitrary as it only seems aimed at
sanctioning his human rights activities.

ii. Put an end to any act of
harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Sukhrat Kudratov as
well as against all human rights defenders in Tajikistan so that they are able
to carry out their work without hindrances;

iii. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration
on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:

-its Article 1,
which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with
others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and
fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;

-its Article 6
(c) which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association
with others to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both
in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and,
through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those
matters” ;

-and its Article
12.2 which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure
the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in
association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto
or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the
present Declaration”.

iv. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human
rights instruments ratified by Tajikistan.